Grinding Wheat with the Incredible WonderMill

When I first started prepping, the last thing on my mind was purchasing wheat for long term storage. Heck, what was I going to do with 100 pounds of wheat berries? Eat them raw? Cook them? Sprout them? Turn them into flour? I did not have a clue. My my, how things have changed.

Today I am thrilled to share with you my experience learning how to mill my own flour with the incredible WonderMill. Not only that, the nice folks at WonderMill have set aside one of their grain mills for one very lucky Backdoor Survival reader. But more about that later.

THE INCREDIBLE WONDERMILL

The first thing I did when my WonderMill arrived is take it out of the box and set it up. Even though I am a “read the manual first” type of person, I skipped that part and simply followed the pictures on the outside of the box. First impression? There are very few parts – no itty bitty pieces to put together – just the basic components that go together in just a few minutes.

I had expected it to be heavy and clunky and actually quite a bit larger than it was, but in fact, it is quite compact and streamlined. The way it works is that you turn on switch, pour your wheat (or other grains) into the hopper, and let it run. In less than a minute, wheat turns into flour that is transported via a piece of rubber tubing into a separate, storable container.

What about the mess? That is where the incredible comes in. There was none. My expectation was that the milling process would result in a white dusting of flour on my black countertops and allover me as well. Incredibly, there was very little and I was pleased.

The WonderMill is said to be the quietest Mill on the market, and while I have nothing to compare it to, it was not as loud as I expected. I would say that it was comparable to the sound of a vacuum cleaner or a blender whipping up a batch of slushy margaritas.

There are three separate settings on the mill itself: pastry, bread and course. I have only used the “bread” setting which produces a nice fine flour, not dissimilar in texture to regular unbleached flour that is purchased commercially.

During the grinding/milling process, the unit does get warm and puts forth a sweetish smell. I would imagine that this smell might be unique to the type of grain being used; in my case it was hard white wheat that I had purchased from both Thrive Life and Emergency Essentials. This other thing I should note is that one cup of wheat produced a tad less than 1.5 cups of flour.

Cleanup was pretty simple. I separated the storage bin from the mill itself then tapped out any excess flour. I then used a small brush (the type that you use with a coffee grinder) and brushed away any remaining flour from the nooks and crannies. This only took a minute or two.

THE RESULTS

As interesting as the technical details might be to some, to me the real tale is in the results. How did the flour turn out within the context of a real loaf of bread or in a pizza crust?

I made two separate loaves of bread in my bread machine. The flavor of my bread was, as I described it to a friend, the “best darn whole wheat bread I have ever tasted”. It had a fresh sweet flavor unlike any other bread I have purchased or made myself. I made no adjustment to my standard recipe that and found that the loaves raised and baked up quite nicely with a nice crumb and a rich golden color. I did feel that the bread was slightly more dense and a bit more filling than normal.

I need to do a bit more research to be sure, but that may have to do with the home milled flour having a higher percentage of protein than commercially milled flour. On the other hand, it may be due to those extra thick slices that I enjoyed during my taste test.

My pizza dough was made from the whole wheat pizza dough recipe found in the Artisan Pizza in Five book. It, too, came out perfectly and the taste? Let me put it this way. Two of us ate the entire pizza in one sitting.

WHY IS GRINDING FLOUR AT HOME A GOOD IDEA?

If I said it is fun would you believe me? Well it is! Just like making your own bread and your own sourdough starter is fun, grinding wheat is fun.

Not only that, there is the satisfaction of knowing that you have taken your baking to a new level of deliciousness. I used hard white wheat and as I indicated above, the flavor was unlike any bread I have ever tasted. Another thing is that I like the idea that I can grind only what I plan on using right away or over the next couple of weeks at the most. This means my flour is always fresh. If you have been baking for awhile, you know that old flour gets stale and looses its oomph.

Something else to consider is that wheat and other grains store well when packaged in food grade buckets with gamma seals which means you don’t need to find the space to store sacks upon sacks of various types of flour (unbleached, whole wheat, pastry, bread, etc.).

ENOUGH ALREADY! WHAT ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY?

Here is the part I know you have been waiting for. WonderMill is giving a grain mill to one lucky reader. The winner will have a choice of the electric WonderMill, like the one I have, or the Wonder Junior Deluxe which, as a manual mill, can be used to also grind nuts into nut butter, coffee and a variety of other items not possible with an electric mill.

To enter, please respond to the following question in the comment area below:

What pioneer skill do you feel will be the most valuable following a disaster, collapse or other “stuff” hits the fan scenario?

In addition, you can earn an extra entry by doing the following and telling me so in a separate comment.

Just to be clear, to take advantage of all three entries, you must leave three separate comments.

The closing date for entries is Friday, September 6th at 6PM PDT. The winner will be selected at random using the tools available at the random.org website. After being notified by email, the winner will have 72 hours to claim their WonderMill or Wonder Junior Deluxe. Otherwise, an alternate winner will be selected.

Note: If you are reading this article in your email client, you must go to the Backdoor Survival website to enter this giveaway in the comments area at the bottom of the article. Also, this giveaway is only available to readers with a US or Canadian shipping address only.

THE FINAL WORD

Now that I have my WonderMill Grain Mill, I am beginning to research different grains and even the usefulness of grinding beans for bean flour and corn for corn flour. I plan to go back and re-read John Hill’s book, How to Live on Wheat also to continue making various types of baked goods with my new mill. I am also planning to write some new articles with on tips for using wheat and other grains as part of your long term storage strategy.

The value of this giveaway is as much as $250, depending on which mill you select. I would like to thank the fine folks at the Wondermill company for offering this fantastic opportunity to the readers of Backdoor Survival.

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!Gaye

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Related Articles:

Bargain Bin: Today I feature items that will get you started milling your own flour with the WonderMill.

WonderMill Grain Mill : This is the electric version, like mine. The WonderMill is the quietest and fastest flour mill available. You can create super fine flour or coarse flour at temperatures that preserve nutrients, ensuring that you will always have the perfect flour for your food. The WonderMill will not only grind wheat, rice and other small grains, but will also grind legumes and beans as large as garbanzos. It is extremely easy to use – simply fill the hopper and you’ll get flour. Also available from here: Wonder Mill Wheat Grinder.

Wonder Junior Deluxe Hand Grain / Flour Mill by Wondermill: I struggled with the decision whether to go manual or electric. The advantage of the Wonder Junior Deluxe is that it does not need power. In addition, because the grinding mechanism can be cleaned, you can use it to grind nuts, coffee and a variety of seeds (as well as wheat and legumes, of course).

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Need something from Amazon (and who doesn’t)? I earn a small commission from purchases made when you begin your Amazon shopping experience here. You still get great Amazon service and the price is the same, no matter what.

I would vote for water purification as being the most important. I would go for oxygen since that is even more important than water, but I don’t think anyone has found a way to steal oxygen or to put it in an artificial bubble that will pop 🙂

If we have all done our homework and prepared, when SHTF, I would hope the pioneer skill would be to have the courage, stability, and the calmness to put it all into effect. You do what you have to do.

Summertime isn’t as big a threat without electricity, but winter presents the largest threat of all. We lived through Hurricane Sandy which happened around Halloween. A cold, raw, rainy November was only days away and although we had food and water and a few generators shared among neighbors, staying warm was difficult and stressful. Should even a bad-case scenario hit in the dead of winter, the pioneering skill of making a fire would be best for cooking (cast iron cookware) and staying warm (not the most efficient). I’m wondering what people in an apartment complex would do. A few days without heat and heating pipes will burst and flood the living area (this happened to a friend, not hurricane related). Propane, white gas, kerosene in quantity for heaters is the best solution, but again, who in the city has room for a 100-pound tank of LPGas or a cord of firewood?

I believe the pioneer skill that would be most valuable would be “self reliance”. Which encompasses many skills. The more self reliant you are the better able you will be to survive any Disaster or SHTF Situation and be able to help as many family and friends as you can.

I believe ‘adaptability’ will the most valuable ‘pioneer skill’ … the ability to adapt to unknown circumstances … the pioneers headed west betting their skills to survive and thrive against unknown odds.

It may not sound like a pioneering skill, but I think hands down it will be the ability to create and become a part of a community that works together and has a common goal. None of us can do it alone long-term.

In a disaster, finding and purifying water would be a real necessity. Also, the ability to erect a shelter and cook over an open flame would come in handy, as would hunting skills, an having a stockpile of processed foods.

I have found that you can buy, build, or study on a skill, but to actually do it is another story. Right now I am struggling with being able to cook various foods, in a grid down situation. I use my campfire pit in the back yard OK, but a rocket stove, a solar oven, a sun reflective satellite dish, and now I am trying to buy an old projector TV to get that giant magnifying glass, to place over my grill, so I can bake.

I believe that to be able to survive after a disaster, you should be able to grow your own food and be able to find water, and shelter for your family or yourself. I have been trying to do this all year, practicing my skills. I would love to have a WonderMill, it would make life easier!

I may not be as eloquent as other writers, but I believe knowing how to grow food is the most important skill we’d need after TSHTF. It’s not just planting seeds and then eating a few months later. One would have to know how to plow, till, etc. How to removed weeds, rid the plants of bugs, when to reap the harvest, and how to store what you’ve grown.

I think the most important pioneer skill to have would be the ability to improvise and use whatever you have around you to your benefit. A knowledge of basic construction, farming, hunting/gathering and cooking skills are important, but knowing how to work with what you have is top of the list for me.

A true return to a pioneer lifestyle would be a horrifying reality for America. I think the most important skill would have to be building a shelter. Safely tucked away out of the weather, you have time to work on the other necessary skills that might give you a chance to survive.

I have liked Backdoor Survival on Facebook, which is where I got the wonderful reminder to read your article today!
PS, I have some 50 year old wheat a friend gave me. She stored it in metal garbage cans behind her garage. I have no idea if it is any good, so I am going to plant a 4X4 plot in my garden to see if it sprouts! it still smells sweet and clean, so wish me luck!

“What pioneer skill do you feel will be the most valuable following a disaster, collapse or other “stuff” hits the fan scenario?” Self defense will be first and foremost .You cant do any gardening,water gathering etc if your dead.Being able to stay alive for the first month or so will determine whether or not you will survive the long haul .I think during the first weeks the weak and unprepared will die off leaving only the prepared and strongest and smartest left

The pioneering skill I would think would be most important is being able to provide clean water to my family. I don’t know if that is necessarily a skill so I would then say being able to grow our own food.

I think the most important skill would be learning to cook and can on a wood stove. Most people don’t realize how difficult it is. You’ll probably think I’m crazy but I debated between this and water-witching. That’s a long lost skill that can also be bartered.

I thin I’d say the best skill to have would be gardening/seed saving. I have a hand crank mill right now but it’s just not practical for using a lot. I’d LOVE to win this Wondermill so I can grind our own wheat all the time!!

Tough question – if you are talking about staying in place, then water and food production and preparation top the list. Which would include finding and treating water, foraging/hunting/fishing, gardening and such, as well as knowing how to prepare it without power. You can always barter with water and food to get other things you need. Medical is another high priority as is sewing. Eventually clothes and items will have to be darned, repaired and replaced. If you are talking about getting caught outside the home, then it comes to water, shelter, fire and foraging – with flexibility on the priority. You aren’t going to worry about finding water in a blizzard, but you will worry about shelter and then fire!

What pioneer skill do you feel will be the most valuable following a disaster, collapse or other “stuff” hits the fan scenario?

I think that the ability to think rationally and know what to do is going to be the most valuable skill! Too often I see people stockpile food they have no idea how to cook with, or purchasing eqiupment they’ve never used before. One of the things we pride ourselves on in our home is that everything we do, we can do without power, and have *tried* without power. We have a manual mill (and yeah, that IS why I want an electric one LOL) and I have ground wheat berries by hand to make flour. I have taken years to learn how to bake bread with nothing more than a bowl and a spoon, and the ingredients. I know how to do a number of things in very simple ways. We make a point of learning the simple stuff first, THEN adding in the technology to help out. The bottom line is, if the world as we know it ends, there won’t be an internet to distract me, nor will my copy writing job be an issue (which I do via the internet). I’ll have the time to grind by hand. 🙂

In short, I think the most important skill is being able to figure things out. Pick up a book – can you follow the instructions to get a finished product? That’s the most important skill. 🙂

I believe that you need to know how to protect yourself, but also basic survival skills, fire starting, forging for food and making temporary shelters and permanent shelters. Preparing before hand for any such disaster is key and being able to band together with family/friends or other prepared people will make for a good base of support against the elements or enemy.

Done! I didn’t know about either (found you through one of my FB friends announcing the contest), so this is new and exciting for me. 🙂 We’ve been prepping for a while, in a sensible kind of way, and we do a lot of home canning, growing our own food, raising chickens and such. 🙂

I think the most important skill is the ability to think in small steps and work logically until completion of a task.With this you can do anything and learn anything .Knowledge can not help or be gainfully acquired without this skill .

There are so many! Depending on the type of disaster, I would choose learning to forage for food and hunting/fishing if I had no resources to work with. Learning to start a fire out of practically anything would go with that too.

There are so many important skills to have for survival, finding food, finding shelter, finding water, keeping your family safe.

I think being able to provide safe drinking water is the most important, because without water, we die.

After that, I think knowing how to hunt and prepare caught game is important. And finally, I think knowing how to make fire is right up there with important. If you are away from all your prepped supplies, you will need these skills.

I think the most valuable skill in a SHTF scenario will be mental. The ability to control your emotions, thoughts and to be able to keep calm and think clearly is essential. You can have all the “preps” in the world, but if you get panicked, depressed or even discouraged, those preps can loose effectiveness.(Of course if you DID have all the preps in the world – you might not be to quick to panic LOL)

Still, I think the ability to think clearly, remain calm and resourceful and keep the confidence that you can make it though what ever hardship you face will be the most valuable skill you could have. If you can do that you can figure out a lot of the rest of the stuff more easily.

The first skills put to work would be finding a defensible/sustainable water supply, immediately followed by shelter and food of the same caliber… the success of which all depends on your ability to adapt and plan. The only pioneers to succeed were either stupidly lucky, or had gathered a wide knowledge base in all areas that addressed survivability, as well as future prosperity. I’m not betting on stupid luck. More Knowledge = More Surviving. That’s why we’re here at the Backdoor. Thanks for sharing Gaye 🙂

When you look at the pioneers, when they came out west, the first thing they did was build a shelter, find water, and plant a garden. So I would have to go along with them, but I would also add cooking with out power.

Gardening, canning, dehydrating, raising animals, water pressuring, solar and wind power, making homemade items from soap to medicine, plus husband has military experience to add to our safety. We don’t have a grain mill yet, so would be a great item to win. It is on our need list. Good luck everyone, but I hope we win.

I think the skill of living with what is available to you in your environment. Wither that is living off the land and using all your resources (ie shooting a deer for meat but also using the hide for clothing) or using what you have available in your house so that your family doesn’t become bored with the same foods and reusing items in your home.

Pioneer skill in SHTF scenario – those skills relating to food, water, and health I think would be the most important. Can you grow and store food? Can you cook it? Do you know how to find water and make it potable? Do you have anyone available with medical skills?

Probably the most important skill in an ‘off grid’ situation is feeding yourself. If you don’t know how to cook without electricity, or at least forage a bit in your surroundings, you’re as good as gone!

Knowing how to live, survive without electricity. This is something that has to be prepared for not a instant thing you would suddenly have the knowledge of how to do. Shelter, Water and food and protection would have to be provided by yourself..pioneer skills, definitely!!

Pioneer Skill: grow your own food, be able to protect yourself, sew on my treadle machine, cook and preserve food. I am a novice at all of this, but I am learning. A person is never too old to try new things and develop skills.

Critical Skill would be knowing how to purify water. Knowing from the pioneer days to soak your water in Apple Peels, if available or other sources of material, if it came from any where except a spring. Without Water. You will not survive. Depends on your Region, what plant to get water from…

I think that the ability to build a fire is the most valuable pioneer skill in a SHTF situation. There’s a reason its discovery changed our species. A fire means killing bacteria and other microbes in water, it means cooked food, as well as warmth and light. And just because you have something to start a fire with doesn’t mean you’ll be able to build one. It took me awhile to be able to light a fire and be confident that I’d burn more than the newspaper kindling.

I think the skill most needed is the ability to prepare food without electricity. I learned this the hard way back in April 2011 when we were hit by the tornadoes and our power was out for over a week. If you can’t prepare food or clean water without power, you’re dead regardless of anything else you may have.

I think one of the most important skills you could have is to know how to feed yourself or family on what ever you can find, or you have put away, you see I cook on fire everyday, open in a wood stove and even on a woodcook stove. I bake in and on top. If you can build a fire you can eat, purify water and keep clean.

The most important survival skill in any disaster scenario is to maintain the ability to keep a clear head and think your way through the situation. Most preppers are self educators, we develop the knowledge over time to survive or even thrive in adverse situations. Applying that knowledge when faced with an emergency is the difference between a survivor and a victim.

what do I think would be the most useful skill..
Firestarting.. being able to create fire.. is what brought us from the darkness…
If I was to win.. I wonder how good the wondermill is.. so far pounding grain with a rock in a cast iron pan.. Morter pistol method is quite time consuming.. having a machine to do it.. would be great..and I bet get a lot better flour to boot and quicker….

OH I follow Wondermill on FB and Backdoor survival I also think in a shtf scenario that fire starting is the most important thing to know how to do it.. Having a wonder mill would be great is sure would take the work out of pounding grain with a rock in a cast iron pan.. LOL LOL and I bet get a lot better flour to boot..

I’m lucky. I live on 40+ acres in East Texas. We are the 6th generation. Hubby an I have relearned how to use all the old farm equipment, have OLD recipes for making soap, gardening, saving seeds, and there are 3ponds very close by for water that have never gone dry. We are blessed beyond belief. But, I have never made my own bread. So a grain mill would be SWEET !

Like the Native Americans – their survival depended on hunting skills & plant gathering – either roots, berries or leaves. Next was preparation & preservation for later use. These skills then work into the skills for more comfort survival.

What pioneer skill do you feel will be the most valuable following a disaster, collapse or other “stuff” hits the fan scenario?

A tough question indeed. I say tough because no single skill can keep anyone alive after a SHTF scenario. BUT if one single skill or quality had to be in place I would say the will to survive. One must want to live, as silly as that may sound. But as I look around I see many people that really don’t want to live but want to suck off the system. These folks will not make it after a SHTF scenario unfolds. They will riot and loot and ultimately fall due to lack of preparedness which will lead to sickness, famine, death.
The will to survive is a skill or quality that stimulates thought. And it’s those capable of thinking that will survive.
This I believe is THE essential skill or quality essential to surviving a SHTF scenario.

Since you must have water to sustain all other skills, the skill to heat all water to not only sterilize, but also to be used in daily bodily consumption and for use in preparing both cold and hot meals.

I don’t think any one skillset will keep someone alive but ones mindset may. You may be great at preparing foods from scratch but can you grow your own food or hunt/trap animals? You may be great at mechanical things, but are you able to grow/prepare foods for long term. You may have money or gold set aside but you can’t eat it. The Bible says that there are many members, no one member better than the other but all the members together make one. We will all need others who bring different skillsets but the one thing we must all have to live is the desire to live and make a better tomorrow…to rebuild what is lost. Without the desire, we will not survive.

The most important skills are how to clean water and which plants/flowers are edible, starting the fire, making a shelter would be very helpful too. Cooking very important 🙂 Don’t forget knowing the games that could be played in the candle light and telling stories if there is no light at all! To keep the youngest ones happy and not scared!

I believe the most important pioneer skill is providing food for my family,whether it be from gardening,foraging,or hunting and fishing. The ability to do those things will also branch out in to areas of keeping my family safe by heightened awareness of your surroundings,you will be aware of approaching dangers. The flour ground from these mills would be healthier than store-bought flour being whole grain.

The most important thing in a stuff hits the fan scenario is a tough one. I think a positive attitude and knowledge are important. Access to water, shelter and food are critical. If you’ve taken the time to educate yourself, stockpile food, water, and hunting supplies before bad things happen then I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And if I have a WonderMill, at the very least I can make hardtack and that has been keeping the world’s armies alive for ages. BTW love your posts and emails, I learn so much.

Hygiene! It’s so easy to start spreading disease or get infections in poorly cared for injuries or just injuries when you’re not clean, and it’s so debilitating that it’s definitely my first concern. Medical hygiene too… blood borne diseases don’t vanish because things fall apart! Other things I can sort of fudge for the most part or ask my husband to help me with, but good hygiene habits are priceless for everyone involved.

I think that the ability to grow and preserve your own food will be the most important pioneer skill to have if something happens in the future….And I think everyone should start learning how now…We are never guaranteed that tomorrow will be the same as today!

What pioneer skill do you feel will be the most valuable following a disaster, collapse or other “stuff” hits the fan scenario?-
i believe the most important skill we will have to have is the adapablility mind set to deal with situations that are no longer part of the norm.. jjust as the pioneer’s did when they moved west, colonized the east and built this great nation…

Pioneer skills…hmmm…although not technically skills, adaptability and the “gumption” to make do with less top my list of pioneer skills. Oh and how best to use a knife. Any knife. Hunting, making shelter, skinning game and making jerky–knives are very versatile if you know how to use them.

I believe that yes, providing food and water will be foremost for survival, however, extended survival will rely partially upon knowing how to store, can and dry food for duration as well as how to store water for duration. Whether it is a little or a lot that we will process at a time, if we are unable to maintain our supplies as they are supplied, we will loose our struggle for life.

While growing food or learning what can or cannot be eaten in the forests are important, that too is of no effect if you can not maintain the supply for long term use.

While physical safety is important, that too is of no effect if you have no food or water.

Physical life comes back around to food and water. The most important skill…preparation of food and water for long term storage. I was blessed as a senior citizen to learn from my grandparents here in the South on the secrets of food storage.

Brothers and Sisters this time there will be no recovery…long term storage should be our motto!

Water is extremely important, but the most important pioneer skill I have creating fire. Fire provides warmth, cook, safety from most predators, light, and sanitation. In a SHTF scenario, you may not know your water source so you will to need to at least boil it. Iodine only goes so far.

I have always believed in the lost arts and here is another. Before prepping I never even thought of this but am gung ho for doing anything to get away from big food and their processes that destroy the value of natural ingredients. I also follow you on Pinterest and Facebook!

I think the most important skill in a longterm disaster situation is to be able to effectively raise and process your own food, hopefully more than you and your family need so you can trade excess for other needed products.

There are many skills that pioneers had that we could use and to narrow it down would be difficult. I will say what they had inside of them that helped them go forward and pioneer is what we will need. Call it heart, attitude or ability to learn and be flexible but we will need that because life will be difficult after a disaster. Then water, shelter, warmth, food will be needed.

The most important skill is learning how to be flexible and roll with the punches! If long term, knowing how to create tasty meals using basic commodities from scratch is very important. I am always amazed at people who don’t know how to cook other than from cans and boxes.

Well, I agree with most that food production/preservation is king. Having said that, storytelling and/or playing a musical instrument is right up there, too. People underestimate the impact of boredom. Keeping your body healthy is obvious, but if your mind is not engaged you will have problems…

You can have all the know how required to survive BUT if you can not control you emotions and fear, you will be of no help to anyone. With a clear head you can lead, help and encourage others to work together and you will have a community and not an isolation area. With your new community you will have many people with different skills that will help solve problems. It won’t be easy by any means but clears heads and coporation works wonders.

I think one of the most important skills will be diversity and adaptation. I think it’s important to know at least a little about everything essential regarding water, food and medical care, using essential oils and herbal remedies as well as animal husbandry and repair of essential tools and commonly used items.

What pioneer skill do you feel will be the most valuable following a disaster, collapse or other “stuff” hits the fan scenario?

This post is the perfect example. Processed “food” will not last more than a few hours at best at the local stores. Many of us have set back a few cans of beans and some rice and maybe a bucket of wheat but how many of us know what to do with that wheat? We need to know how to take the wheat from field to table and being able to grind your wheat is the most important step. We also need to know the different types of wheat, Red vs White, hard etc as well as where each type tyically grows. So basically, the number one pioneer skill will be knowing how to feed your family.

I think The ability to get people to put aside personal agendas and work together would be the most useful skill in a Diaster, we do do this often. To be able to continue will be the test. Personally I want to be able to feed and shelter my family.
I’d like a wonder mill jr., so I can make coffee, I need it to survive. And peanut butter.

The most important skill would be Water finding it, distilling it, purifying it through natural means.. and then fire starting.. what would I do with a wondermill.. I wonder if it will grind corn for corn meal as well..

In our neck of the woods we would need heat besides our food. I do have a pretty full larder to go on for a year at least, but the heating would be a great need as well. We’d probably have to section off the house to make a smaller to heat space to conserve our wood.

Just this week I almost committed the sins of LUST, ENVY, COVETOUSNESS when I spotted my friend’s Wondermill on her counter. I have both an electric and hand grinder, but REALLY want a Wondermill. While there are a lot of skills I need to master, my most urgent desire is to be more proficient in delivering first aid in mass casualty situations. Professionals (if they are available) will have their hands full ministering to serious and critical injuries. Someone has to deal with the minor things. Even in clean-up, being able to treat cuts and blisters is the only way to prevent infections and prevent the spread of disease. In addition, I want to learn more about home remedies.

I think that being able to cook a meal that is tasty and healthy without any modern or electric appliances will be a valuable skill. Outdoor, campfire, cowboy cooking – whatever you call it there will be a need for those who have the knowledge and skill to skin, clean, gather, and cook whatever food there is to be found.

Definitely growing and preserving your own food. Of course, you would have to know how to cook from scratch with a garden. Good food does not come from a box. Make sure you buy seeds that are not hybrid. Store the seeds in a cool, dark place in a container with a tight fitting lid. Most seeds will last several years, some will not. Some years we have bumper crops and other years I’m glad I canned extra the previous year. It all depends on Mother Nature! I would love to win the Wondermill!!

I believe growing and canning “pioneer” skills will be very beneficial. I wish sometimes my grandmother were still alive so I could learn many of the pioneer skills from her that seem to have been lost in the later generations of my family.

I believe the most important skill post-SHTF would be the ability to grow and preserve food, which would include the ability to harvest and process seed from the heirloom plants.

Although I was really impressed reading about the WonderMill Grain Mill, if I should be so lucky as to win my choice, I believe I would have to choose the Wonder Junior Deluxe in case we were in little or no electricity situation. I also like its versatility for being able to grind nuts, etc.

Primary pioneer skill would be to PURCHASE and learn NOW how to use and repair pioneer era tools. Gasoline or electric may not be available for an extended period of time.
Flea markets, yard sales, and estate sales may be a good place to look.
Check out your library for the “Foxfire” books which deal with all things related to pioneer living.

It looks like my previous post about the most important pioneer skill was lost in cyberspace. That said, common sense would be number one followed by providing water, food, shelter, and protecting yourself and your family. I would recommend everyone look at joining CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). You learn first aid, fire suppression, search and rescue, incident management, hazmat and about terrorism. Take the basic course (it’s free) and continue with the supplemental courses.

We could make great use of a mill/grinder. We are avid hunters, gardeners, we can, dehydrate, cook food grown of available from within one hundred miles…except with products such as coffee…which are not available within our milieu. We live on the Canadian prairie where wheat and grains of all sort…are plentiful. Our plans have been a family approach…

this would be such a great addition to my families supplies! I think that most pioneers would know how to spot wild food and how to use it both as food and for medicine. that would be skill I would like to cultivate. back in the day of the pioneer 90% of the people made a living from the land. I would like to be able to take my seeds form ‘ seed to bread’.

I feel our ability to cook outdoors will be valuable if our grid goes down. We collect mesquite firewood for when our propane runs out. I study plans for rocket stoves. We store water in a large tank as our forefathers did in their underground cisterns. We have a solar well pump so we or our animals won’t have to go thirsty.

I believe that the pioneer skill that would be most useful is raising and growing your own food in a long term SHTF scenario, short term knowing how it make a shelter and set up a good camp is most important.

Pioneers knew how to forage, hunt, and grow a sustaining garden and preserve food. I believe that beyond shelter, stored food and purified water, knowing how to hunt, gather and preserve is going to be a HUGE part of surviving. Those who think they can throw their stored seeds in the ground and reap a huge garden…but have never handled a hoe have NO idea how labor intensive gardening is….nor the huge learning curve in front of them. I have been gardening since I was very small. My parents grew up during the depression, my grandfather was an avid fisherman, hunter and trapper. He held world records. I am 42 (yes, my parents were OLD when I arrived) and feel I am still at the beginning of my learning curve.

I would have to agree with many of the other commenters that knowledge of how to produce, hunt, scavenge, and harvest food would be the most important in a long term SHTF scenario. But after that comes the need to save and preserve those found food-stocks for storage through winter, summer, or even fallow times post disaster due to climatic changes, radiation, or even “nuclear/volcanic winters” as it does no good to have food raised in large quantities if you can’t save it for when you are not raising food. Many pioneers knew how to can, salt and smoke cure, and even dry meats and vegetables so that they would last months even years after they were gathered.

I think one of the most important skills immediately following a disaster will be knowing how to grow your own food including how to preserve meat. Also knowing how to use food and herbs for medicinal purposes.

I think about the pioneers who only had what they could pack in their wagons. I think it will be critical to be able to create a meal from the most basic ingredients, and to be able to grow, process and preserve all types of food including grains, vegetables and meat. It will be necessary to have and know how to use equipment such as the grain mill to be able to do this.

I have really enjoyed your articles. At this moment, I am canning tomatoes which is something I never would of thought to do until reading and understanding the importance of being as self-reliant as possible. Thanks,

Best pioneer skill to be self sufficient so you could survive no matter what the situation. Those would include hunting/growing own food, making clothing, and natural remedies for healing. And all the necessary information to accomplish these tasks. (or how to barter for them)